Play Ball!
by Walker-98
Summary: Ambassador Kosh encounters a force unlike any other.


**_Play Ball!_**

* * *

 ** _AN: Cover art was created by natoth_**

* * *

The Vorlon Ambassador Kosh Naranek glided through Babylon 5's busy Zocalo. Around the Vorlon swirled a dozen different races. A group of Narn youngsters jeered at two Centauri businessmen. A pod of Pak'Ma'Ra waddled by, shoving something steaming and greasy into their maws under their tentacles. A Drazi shopkeeper waved enthusiastically at his mate and their children across the bustling marketplace. Humans. Minbari. Brakiri. Vree. A vibrant hive of an often discordant community nestled inside a spinning space station all alone in the night.

And all the many races in the Zocalo moved out of the way as Kosh passed. They all noticed the ambassador. Saw his path. And then got out of his way. Few realized they were even moving. It was almost at the subconscious level. They parted before the Vorlon like the mythical tale of the Human Moses and the Red Sea or the Narn G'Ston and the great river Nieks.

For all of the activity in the marketplace, Kosh paid it no mind. The Vorlon had many other concerns. His mind spun in many directions simultaneously. Comparing the distant past to the always present. Concerns of the future. Sheridan's path. Delenn's. Sinclair's destiny. And always the coming darkness. These thoughts wove together in ways that the younger races would find incomprehensible.

Kosh's most important consideration was whether or not to call for the Inquisitor. He knew it was necessary. They had to be sure about Delenn and Sheridan. But a part of him didn't want to bring that odious creature on the station. Kosh knew if the two passed the test, it would mark a point of no return.

So divided in his thoughts, that the Vorlon did not notice a small round object bouncing along the floor of the Zocalo. Most of the crowd did not either. But as they unconsciously shifted their routes around Kosh, they inadvertently gave the little ball a direct path to run into the Vorlon.

Thunk!

Kosh halted as the ball bounced off his encounter suit, hit the ground, and spun slowly to a stop. For a brief second, the Vorlon examined the small white sphere and the thin red fiber stitching it together. Then he prepared to move on. It was of no consequence.

Interrupting Kosh's plan, someone small darted out of the hurried crowds and ran up to quickly retrieved the ball. Upon picking it up, he looked up. And up. Given the height difference between the two, the young child had to crane his neck to see the top of Kosh's suit. The Vorlon noted the child was Human. A male with floppy sandy colored hair that partly hung down to his eyes.

"Sorry, mister," said the boy apologetically.

Kosh waited a brief second for the Human to get out of his way. Yet the boy remained. Staring up at the Vorlon. Expectant. Curious. Excited. All these reckless sentiments conveyed in his wide blue young eyes. In what could almost be called a shrug, Kosh made a minor step to the side and resumed his travels. His mind promptly forgetting the ball, the boy, and returning to unpleasant thoughts.

But the boy refused to be ignored. He immediately started after the Vorlon. With everyone else moving around Kosh, it made it easy for the child to keep up in the wake of the traveling encounter suit. His little feet kicking forward as he kept up with the Vorlon's pace. And it did not take long for Kosh's new companion to begin chittering away.

"Sorry about hitting you with my baseball," said the boy. "But it got away from me. And then some lizard person accidentally kicked it, and it really got going. And there are so many people around here. I called and called for someone to catch it, but nobody listened. Then it hit you and came to a stop. Then everyone got out of my way so I could finally get it."

Kosh ignored every single word. However, the boy was just warming up.

"There are so many people here. And well sorta people. The bald head guys seem nice, but not the funny-haired ones. Or the other funny haired people. The lizard things are sorta scary…but Gretchen says most of the…the…" Here the boy struggled to remember the right word. "Nerns are good people…just bad things have happened to them."

Kosh increased his pace. But the boy doggedly kept up.

"Mister," questioned the boy. "Do you have wheels under that…um…dress…skirt? Because I don't see any legs walking."

There was a pause from the boy's nonstop babbling. Kosh nearly returned to his private musing when they started up again. "Are you a woman? Is that why you're wearing that dress-gown-thingy over your armor? I'm sorry, ma'am. I thought you were a guy."

Coming to a stop, Kosh slowly turned to gaze down at the young Human. The boy again looked up at the Vorlon with excited youthful jubilance.

Kosh spoke. The shifting musical tones of his true voice translated through his suit. "I am busy."

Anyone else would have gotten the hint. Go away. Leave. You are not wanted. Not this child. The warning flew right over his head. He jumped up and down. His excitement only growing.

"I am too! Gretchen said I should stop bothering her and read a book or watch a vid. But I've read them all, and the vids she brought are dumb. So I figured I'd find someone to play ball with. There got to be like a million people here. Someone's got to know how to play."

A thread of curiosity tugged at the Vorlon. The child was so determined. "What is your name?" asked Kosh.

"Josh Tanner," answered the boy. Then without missing a beat, he returned the question. "What's yours?"

"Kosh."

Impossibly Josh's wide blue eyes grew even larger. "Hey! That rhymes with my name!" He began to sing a little tune. "Josh and Kosh…Kosh and Josh…Josh and Kosh."

Vorlons do not sigh. Breathing was not something they had needed to do in a very long time. Inhaling, exhaling, it just was not a biological necessity for their race. Nevertheless, Kosh sighed heavily as Josh merrily sang their two names together. The musical tones on his encounter suit made a sound not unlike a grand piano being tossed down a flight of stairs. The noise disturbing enough to make several bystanders look up in surprise. Josh ignore it completely.

Turning around again, Kosh effortlessly resumed his pace. Josh, who had stopped signing and had been distracted by something in a store window, quickly realized his new friend was leaving and ran after him.

"Don't go so fast," complained Josh as his little legs fought to close the distance on the Vorlon. Kosh stopped and turned to face the boy.

This really needed to end. Kosh had far more pressing concerns than having this child follow him around. Already he had said more to Josh than most of Babylon 5's command staff. Combined. This Gretchen was obviously the boy's older sibling, or guardian reasoned the Vorlon.

"You should return to Gretchen," he curtly informed Josh.

"Awww," groaned the boy at Kosh's command. "I don't want to," he whined. "All she wants to do is sit at that stupid café and talk to guys."

"Go."

Josh's wild enthusiasm began to crumble. "But I want to play ball…no one will play with me." His eyes wandered over Kosh's encounter suit. "Do you have arms in that suit thing? Bet it's really neat inside. Can I see inside? Can you come out?"

"No."

His lips turned down, and a little tremor ran through Josh's youthful face. He was making his last desperate plea. "Please, will you play ball with me? Please?"

"No."

The Vorlon spun around and once again began to move. He made it a good ten meters. Then without warning, Josh ran past him and came to a halt right front of the massive frame of Kosh's encounter suit. Fresh tears were running down his face.

"Why not!?" demanded Josh. "What are you doing that is so important!? What is anyone doing here that is so important!? I watched. Everyone is just running around and not even actually talking to each other. This place is the most amazing thing I've ever seen, and nobody even notices! Nobody understands!"

By now wet tears were rolling down Josh's cheeks. He glared up at the Vorlon with an angry, childish stubbornness. Defiantly waiting for some explanation. For a very long moment, the young Human stood barring the way of the old Vorlon. The difference between the two was as wide as the distance between the stars. No…even greater. The vast empty gulf connecting the galaxies made for a more fitting comparison. But for all the many disparities between Kosh and Josh, the Vorlon could not bring himself to disagree. What was he doing that was so important? The universe and all its endless wonder would continue regardless of what Kosh did or did not do.

Finally bowing to the better argument, the Vorlon nodded slowly. "Come."

Josh rubbed his eyes. Blinking in surprise, he sniffed, "You mean it?"

"Yes."

* * *

"Oh my god…oh my god, my dad is going to kill me," moaned Gretchen Tanner. Her tight blonde curls were bobbing up and down as she paced around the security office. She moved with such agitated energy she looked like she was ready to start bouncing off the walls.

"Relax, Ms. Tanner," said Chief of Security Michael Garibaldi as he turned in his chair. He punched in commands on his security console to bring up a canvas of vids from around the station. "We get plenty of missing persons' reports coming from the Zocalo. Got plenty of security cameras covering the place. We can find your kid brother in just a few minutes."

Unconvinced, the fifteen-year-old continued to pace around in a tight circle. "I turned away for just a moment, and Josh was gone. What if something happened to him? My dad…"

Taking his turn at trying to calm the young woman down, Zack spread his hands in an aw-shucks manner. "I'm sure he's just in some store or restaurant, ma'am. There are a million things that can be distracting. He can't have gone far."

A little bit of her worried energy faded and Gretchen collapsed into one of the chairs across from Garibaldi's desk. Yet her ebb in anxiety did not last long. "He's only six. And he can be such a pain. What if he got some Minbari Warrior angry? And they decided to toss him in an airlock. And then…"

"That, I guarantee you, won't happen," said Garibaldi as he fought to keep a straight face. As Gretchen rubbed her temples, looking like she was ready to burst into tears, Garibaldi exchanged a glance with Zack. Gretchen needed to feel like she was doing something. Sitting here in the security office fretting over her little brother Josh would not help anything. And she would be a continual nuisance to Garibaldi.

Picking up on the unsaid command, Zack lightly touched the teenager on her shoulder. "I'm going to make my rounds," he said gamely. "Why don't come with me? We'll take a pass through the marketplace first. I'll bet we find Josh in no time."

Gretchen perked up at the offer. "Oh, that would be fantastic. Thank you, Mr.…"

"Allan," finished Zack. He extended an arm, and Gretchen quickly clamped on to it. She seemed rather pleased to have security officers undivided attention. Just before they left, Zack caught Garibaldi with a distinctive look which practically shouted - 'You owe me one.'

Stifling a laugh, Garibaldi watched the pair leave. Turning back to his security console he inputted a photo of Josh given to Garibaldi by his sister. The station's computers would be able to do a facial recognition scan through the recorded video from the Zocalo. He could then radio Zack and let him know where to find the boy. Easy-peasy.

Except the search routine found nothing. No video recording of Josh Tanner ever being in Red Sector, let alone the Zocalo. Frowning, Garibaldi went through the Babylon 5 registry. He found the entry for the Tanners without a problem. Father - Gregory Tanner. His only daughter – Gretchen Tanner. His only son – Josh Tanner. Per station records, Gregory Tanner was employed by Waltech Industries and was attempting to reach a deal with the Drazi. His two children had accompanied him to Babylon 5 on a 'work vacation.' All nice and normal. So why couldn't they find the kid? Was the sister lying about him being with her in the Zocalo? That did not seem likely. But Garibaldi had seen his share of screwed up family situations to know looks could be deceiving.

However, before going down a darker and unpleasant path, he decided to check a few things. "Run a full system diagnostic on Red Sector security systems," he ordered the station's computer. "Report any anomalies."

Thirty seconds ticked by and then the computer beeped its findings. "One anomaly found."

"What is it?"

"Entrance to Rec Center is unlocked and opened," reported the computer.

Only station personnel could open the Rec Center, it was closed to the general public. Another frown made its way onto Garibaldi's face. "Who opened it?"

"Unknown."

"Is anyone in there?"

"Unknown."

Garibaldi hated computers. Despite any number of people who argued with him, Garibaldi knew the machines hated him as well. He grumbled, "Stupid computer." He would just have to go check it out himself.

It took Garibaldi a little less than ten minutes to make his way over to Red Sector. The walk did him good. Maybe one of the station command staff had met Josh and had taken him to Rec Center. Gretchen had said Josh liked baseball and there was a field in the compound. That did not explain why the security system had not found the kid in the first place. But if Josh were here it would give the Tanner family some peace. And then Garibaldi could spend most his afternoon tearing the security system apart to figure what was wrong.

He was encouraged when he entered the Rec Center. The baseball fields lights were on. Someone was using it. It could be the Captain. From time to time the John would unwind at the field. Maybe he had run into the lost Josh and taken pity on the kid. Garibaldi should have first tried commlink to the Captain.

Therefore his expectations took a rather hard nose dive when he jogged out on to the field. Indeed, Josh was at home plate. His small hands wrapped around a too large baseball bat. But it was the other person on the field that had the security chief's jaw on the ground. For on the pitcher's mound, the bright lights of the stadium glinting off his encounter suit, stood the Vorlon Ambassador.

A baseball levitated just a few inches in front of the iris on Vorlon's encounter suit. The iris glowed for a moment, and the ball shot upward in a high arc headed towards home plate. Then, defying several laws of physics, the baseball slowed as it approached Josh. Going to a speed that would make it easy for the young boy to hit the ball with his adult-sized bat.

Oblivious to the amazing display of telekinesis, Josh swung at the slow-moving baseball. There was an audible whack when the wooden bat hit the leather ball, and the baseball bounced down the field.

Josh let out an excited whoop. Then he spotted the dumbstruck Garibaldi. "Hey, mister," said Josh. "Wasn't that a great hit!?"

Garibaldi did not say anything. He was busy gaping at the Vorlon. Or to be exact, the head of Vorlon's encounter suit. There was a baseball cap sitting lopsided on the top of the molted green-brown skin of the suit. The kid had to have put it there. He just had to. Because the alternative explanation was the Vorlon had put the cap there himself. And that just did not seem possible.

Josh waited expectantly for an answer. "Ummm," began Garibaldi. "Yeah," he finally said after shoving part of his brain back into working order. "Good one." He dragged his eyes away from the Vorlon Ambassador and back to the kid. "Josh, we've been looking for you."

Nodding, Josh seemed to expect Garibaldi response. "I know," he said somberly. "Gretchen is probably going crazy."

"And I'll likely be joining her," declared Garibaldi.

Puzzled, Josh said, "Huh?"

"Never mind," said Garibaldi. "How did you get in here?"

"Mister Kosh brought me."

Garibaldi felt his right eye begin to twitch. "Did he?" Turning back to the Vorlon Ambassador, he noted the baseball cap was gone from the Vorlon's head. It had completely vanished. The Vorlon stared back at him like Kosh was daring him to say something. The surrealness of the moment made Garibaldi's head ache.

"Err…The ambassadorial staff is free to use the Rec Center," said Garibaldi in an oddly normal voice for such a truly bizarre situation. "But we usually request notification before use."

Kosh nodded once in agreement. Lopping up to Garibaldi, Josh was all bubbly smiles. He seemed to sense the game was over. Stopping before the Vorlon, the kid said, "Thank you, Mister Kosh for playing with me."

"You are welcome," replied the Vorlon in a voice so grave it would have been fitting for the pronouncement for the end of the universe. And then saying nothing else, Kosh glided off the baseball field and out of the stadium.

Garibaldi watched the Vorlon leave. He shook his head. Nobody would ever believe him. Not in a million years. There was no video evidence. No pictures. Nothing. Just his and Josh's word.

"Com'on," said Garibaldi to Josh. "Let's go."

"Hey, mister," said Josh as he dutifully followed after him.

"The names Michael Garibaldi. But you can just call me Mike."

"Hey, Mike," began Josh. "Sorry for being a problem. I know I worried Gretchen. But it was soo much fun with Mister Kosh. He's a great baseball player. I've been playing for two years. But Mister Kosh said he's been playing games a lot longer. But he wouldn't tell me how old he was. How old do you think he is? Because I guess at least fifty…maybe even sixty. He sounded old…."


End file.
